


I can't help falling (in love with you)

by Tuvieja



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ancient Greece & Rome, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, F/F, Happy Ending, Inspired by The Fall of Icarus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), nina is a literal goddess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 18:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21324436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tuvieja/pseuds/Tuvieja
Summary: Nina is a literal god, and she's having a boring day, until she spots a couple of humans on a previously uninhabited island. She gets curious and decides to take a closer lookORA retelling of the story of Icarus but with a far better ending
Relationships: Inej Ghafa/Nina Zenik
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Sing, oh muse, of the boredom of the goddess Apollo

Nina was the biggest, brightest, prettiest of the gods in the sky. Her grace shone upon all those who walek the Earth. She gave plants life and put a smile on the children who wanted to go out and play. She was revered by the mortals as “Apollo” and their depictions of her showed a woman surrounded by light, dancing in meadows, full of joy.

Right now, though, Nina wasn’t dancing, or playing among kids, or even caresing the crops the people had given to her in tribute. Right now Nina was utterly bored.

It’s never a good thing when the gods get bored.

She was lying down on her chariot, as she cursed along small islands and infinite sea, staring listlessly at the world beneath her,

It isn’t that there was nothing to see, it was just that she had already seen it all.

Her godly counterpart, Mathias (called Artemis by the worshipers) had invited her to hunt with him and the hunters multiple times but after a few centuries running after white deers gets old. Mathias had looked appalled when she voiced this though, so she was trying to give him space for now.

As she glided through the arch of the sky she noticed something, something that hadn’t been there before.

On the very verge of civilization, where trade routes didn’t venture unless they were lost, was a tiny island. This island was little more than a pile of rocks with a few plants taking root on it’s center. Home only to sea birds since the dawn of time. Until now, apparently.

Nina, wanting to take a closer look, slowed her chariot, figuring nobody would complain about more minutes of sunlight.

She squinted, she was sure she’s seen  _ something _ there.

After a while, when she was about to give up and continue her trek, she saw it. A couple of humans popping in and out of a cave. There were only two, and they kept picking up wood and fallen feathers from the ground, diligently bringing them to their shelter.

She was fascinated by these people, who had not been there before but had no ship on sight that could have been their vessel.

Still, she had a job to do, and so she kept going, her mind stuck in the island along its inhabitants.

Inej was tired, her arms felt heavy from carrying stuff all day and her legs were sore from going all around the uneven surface of the island. This, however, was no excuse. She finished arranging their supplies in neet piles on the back of the cove and headed back out.

Her father and her were left with little supplies, their jailors vetoing anything that they could use to escape. What they didn’t know is that all a Ghafa needed to create was their brains. After lamenting their fate for a total of ten minutes, the both of them had put their heads together to figure out the way out.

In less than an hour they had schematics drawn in the dirt and an idea firm on their minds. If they couldn’t walk out of there, nor could they swim back to safety then they would fly, after all she was Inej Ghafa and her future was waiting above.

They had some candles, a bundle of rope and Inej’s knives. Their captors had thought them unarmed, they had searched her father but after a look at the silks Inej was wearing, they deemed her harmless and forgone any inspection. The fool of them.

Now her knives rested on their sheathes and her father slept. With the rope under her arm Inje looked for a couple of trees she had spotted during the daytime. They had just the right space between them and she got to work tying the rope, making sure to be extra careful since this wasn’t the material she favored.

After a while, everything was set up. Not wanting to waste any more time Inej hopped up and started dancing.

* * *

Nina hadn’t been able to forget about the new people on the old island. After her duties were done, she had sneaked out of Olympus. If anybody asked then she’d tell them she wanted to stretch her legs.

She waved at Matthias on her way down, though, since he’d be presiding over the sky and trying to hide from him would be meaningless.

A hooded cloak, made specially for her by Waylan, hid her godly radiance and made it easier to walk among mortals. It had been a gift for her help in reuniting him with Jesper. Hephaestus was meant to live in a volcano, to keep his forge ever-burning, and Athena was in charge of Athens and the humans’ affairs. A little extra trip on her chariot was a small price to pay to see Waylan’s face when she came into the fiery mountain with a wind-swept Jesper behind her.

Now she drew the cape tight around her and walked over land and sea to reach her destination.

After locating the cave, she peeked in but saw only one of the humans there, old and with calloused hands but still with an air of nobility even while sleeping on the ground.

Since she was already all the way there, Nina turned from the strange man and went further into the island, looking for the second figured she’d seen from her chariot.

She found her seemingly standing on thin air.

She had heard a thousand poems of the beauty bestowed by moonlight, she had heard of the breathtaking quality of women. She’d even been the one Sapho had taken inspiration in for a lot of her poems! Yet he had never seen true beauty until that day.

The figure was slim but with clearly toned muscle, her movements fluid but perfectly in control, she was flying over a thin rope like it was nothing, like she was on flat ground and in a grand dancehall. Her skin was made darker by the night but glowed with the strength of the full moon. Her hair was tied back in a long braid that swayed at the rythm of a music only she could hear.

Nina was a god, therefore she didn’t need to breath, still she felt breathless. She felt like there wasn’t enough air in the world. Although she knew it was impossible she felt the very gravity of Earth shiting, pulling her towards the creature in front of her.

Unconsciously, she started moving closer.


	2. Eyes meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nina likes to think she's more graceful than she is  
Inej is beautiful and we all love her  
They are both nerds in love

Inej was aware someone was watching. When you grow up like she did, in front of dozens of expectators, you get a kind of sixth sense telling you when you’ve been noticed. She didn’t know how to explain it aside from the tingling on the back of her neck.

She had thought it was her father, at first, but he’d have come out of the trees to spot her or suggest that she go back to sleep.

Moving carefully, looking as if she was simply following the steps of her dance, she turned fully towards the presence.

An outcrop of rocks greeted her. Tilting her head to one side, she tried to see the person she  _ knew _ was there but no luck

Nina was startled into stillness when the woman turned her eyes directly to her. The cape should be enough to fool any human eye yet she was staring at her.

After a moment Inej decided to just go for it. If she was going crazy then at least there was nobody to see aside from her father.

-Why don’t you come closer? You’ll see better.

* * *

Nina was  graceful , she was always in control of her body, she was even in control of the sky half the time! She did  _not_ stumble over her own feet when spoken to by a pretty lady. That’s slander.

Inej startled when a figure tripped out of the shadows. The sharp movement causing the hood to slip back, revealing a woman’s face.

She had round cheeks and soft brown eyes, the same color of the long curls falling over her shoulders. The paleness of her skin was made sharper by the glow of the moon above. She stood perfectly still as she observed the stranger.

When Nina managed to right herself she looked up. The woman was staring at her but, this time, she could  _ see _ her. It was too late now to pull back and pretend she wasn’t there so she took the risk and stepped closer.

-Hi

Inej jumped down from the rope with her usual grace

-What are you doing here? I thought this place was deserted

-It was! That’s why I came here.- She hurried to clarify.

The girl seemed to catch a meaning and she backed a few feet.

-Oh, sorry about that. If you want to be alone then don’t worry, we’re leaving soon. We didn’t want to be here anyways..- The last part slipped between clenched teeth, making Nina’s curiosity only grow bigger.

-Oh? I didn’t know you could accidentally end up on an island without a boat and a very bad navigator.

They didn’t look like victims of a shipwreck and Nina was pretty sure humans could walk over water. Like 80% sure at least.

-I’m a perfect navigator, thank you very much. And it wasn’t an accident

The stranger had an air around her like Inej could just tell her anything, like she was someone she inherently trusted. Inej had good instincts so she trusted those.

-This is my father’s punishment, and I’m here to help him

-What could he have done to deserve such a fate?- Nina knew how important society was for the survival of humans so this was practically a prolonged death sentence.

-He doesn’t  _ deserve it _ . That’s why I’m here too, to help him get out.

Nina briefly wondered if she was chatting with a very charming criminal before striking that thought down, she could see her aura and it was nothing but pure.

-Then?

The woman sighed, like she was preparing to deal with something she’d rather avoid

-You don’t need to tell me!- She rushed to say. -It’s okay! There’s enough space on this island for the three of us and maybe I don’t mind company if it’s someone like you!-That last part wasn’t supposed to come out but it was too late now. Nina bit her lower lip, a nervous tell she thought she had kicked decades ago.

-O..kay? It seems you’ve been alone for a while

-Why do you think that?

Inej shrugged her shoulders.-It’s just a feeling

Nina wasn’t alone! She was constantly surrounded by the other gods and her faithful priests. Maybe she was a bit lonely but she was fine.

She let the comment slide and looked back towards where the rope was still pulled tight between two trees.

-If I may ask, what were you doing there? It was like a dance but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone dance on a string.

Inej took the subject change with a nod and turned to the rope as well.

-It’s not a string, it’s called a tightrope and where I come from there’s many artists that dance like me.

Nina imagined a land to the east where the streets were full of beautiful people with warm brown skin and long braids who walked on ropes and flew on their feet.

-I’d love to go there sometime

A shadow passed over the woman’s eyes before she managed to hide it,-Me too, hopefully I’ll be back soon.


	3. It's so easy to love you I didn't even notice I was doing it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls spend time together and fall even deeper

After that first encounter Nina couldn’t help but keep visiting the tiny island. During the day she’d keep her gaze turned there and when night came she’d sneak in to talk to the woman, who had introduced her as Inej.

She had seen her look all over the island the day after their meeting, wanting to see the strange visitor in the light of the sun, but after walking the perimeter three times she gave up.

Inej was sure she had been speaking to a nymph, maybe the spirit of the entire island, since she exuded a sort of power too great to belong to a single tree or stream. After accepting this Inej stopped looking, figuring that Nina would come back if she so wished.

All she had to do was walk back to the trees each night and there she was, waiting for her. Inej would sit down besides heror she’d set the ropes up and practise while they talked, some nights all they did was lay on their backs and look at the stars.

Inej told Nina about growing up with her family, a troop of wandering performers who loved her so much. They loved her to the point of sailing to the sea when she was taken. They loved her to the point of storming the brothel where she was held captive and running with her. They loved her enough to challenge anyone who wanted to take her away again. In the end, her father took the punishment for their “crime”. Since he was a famous inventor and performer the jury agreed they couldn’t kill him and risk civic unrest so they reached the decision to put them both on the island, with no supplies and just wait for nature to do their job.

Nina had been outraged when she learned what had happened but Inej calmed her and told her there was nothing she could do.

Of course this wasn’t true, but Inej didn’t know it. The day after she was trusted with that secret Nina went to that brothel and unleashed the worst of her plagues upon the owner and all the clients. She took especial care so that none of the captive girls caught it and once there was nobody to claim them she welcomed all into her temple.

Inej wouldn’t know what happened but Nina felt better knowing that wretched place and it’s demons were no longer on this realm. If she tipped off Hades about their crimes to ensure they’d end up deep in Tartarus… well, that was a private conversation and nobody’s business.

They kept meeting at night and during the day Nina saw how Inej and her father labored under her light.

-What is it that you are planning to do with all those feathers?

She couldn’t stop herself from asking one night. Inej looked surprised at her, since Nina wasn’t present during the day and she hadn’t come into the cave.

She realised her mistake when Inej didn’t answer right away.

-I… may have seen you and your father picking up wood and feathers during the day… I`m not like some creep, I swear!

-That’s exactly what a creep would say.- She teased, but let it go. Figuring that if she was an entity of nature then she’d probably see anything that happened around her.

-It’s our escape plan. We are getting out of here soon.

Nina looked sad at that, of course she wanted Inej to be free! and rejoin her family or sail the seas as she had confessed was her dream, but she couldn’t just pop down into a ship or a busy city without the other gods noticing. And she didn’t want anyone noticing Inej and her incomparable beauty (she had heard enough about tragedies about the others’ lovers)

Inej, of course, noticed. She seemed to always understand what was going on in Nina’s head. -Maybe you could come with us? I mean, if you can’t go I get it, I could come here sometimes and we could hang out. I’ll get a the money to buy a ship and I’ll be able to go wherever I want, whenever I’m not, you know, hunting down slavers.

Nina admired her drive. This was a woman who had been beaten down and she came out not only stronger but with an unstoppable desire to fight back, to protect others from what she had gone through.

-I know you would, Inej.- She looked back up at the sky, locking eyes with Matthias for a moment. He nodded at her, reassuring Nina that nobody “upstairs” had taken notice of her little escapade. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep this up, though.

Looking at Inej, all relaxed while lying on the dirt, Nina didn’t think she could give this up.

She needed to make a decision.

* * *

-We are almost done!- Inej tried not to look too excited, but the prospect of what they were about to do was too delightful to hide. -By this time next week we should be back in the main land.

Nina celebrated with her, sharing a bottle of wine she had brought over from the northern settlements. Of course she told Inej it was something she had hidden away for a special occasion. They drank and laughed and dance to Nina’s sining. Inej was glowing with a light of her own and Nina couldn’t look away.

It was under the silver gaze of the moon and the stars that Inej leaned over and Nina stayed still. It was under the cover of night that they shared their first kiss, and many more after.

Shortly before dawn, when Nina looked upon a sleeping Inej, that she made her decision.


	4. I'll always catch you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You all knew this was coming

The next night Inej waited until dawn under the trees, but no one came.

The night after that she brought her rope and danced until her feet bleed, but there was no one to stare at her.

The next three nights she simply lied down and looked up, wondering if she had done something wrong or if Nina didn’t want to say goodbye after all.

On the sixth night she stayed on the cave, helping her father put the finishing touches on their invention.

On the morning of the day Inej and her father were meant to flee Nina woke up earlier than usual. Today was going to be a clear sky and she’d shine twice as bright so the two humans could find their way back to safety.

When she crested the horizon on her flaming chariot, she saw them.

At first Nina thought that a couple of sirens had found their way into the island but upon closer inspection she saw that these weren’t birds with human faces but rather humans with bird wings.

The smile that spread on her face was pure admiration for their ingenuity. They had seen how the only creatures coming in and out were the birds and, since they were incapable of changing shapes (Nina was sure, she’s asked) they made their wings out of sticks and feathers.

They were standing at the cliffs, apparently waiting for Nina to smile at them because the moment she figured out they both jumped.

For a moment Nina saw them fall, their bodies not meant to fly but to be earthbound, and then, the the last possible second, both of them twisted their bodies and moved their arms, catching an updraft and taking to the air.

These people had mastered the only terrain they weren’t meant to tread, and they did it with all the grace of the birds around them. Nina left out a delighted laugh. She couldn’t believe what her eyes were seeing.

While Inej’s father kept close to the water, using the sea breeze as propulsor, Inej was way up in the sky. The sound of her laughter made Nina laugh along her. She was going up and down, twisting this way and that, dancing as she was wont to do, with no regard to gravity.

Nina was above them now, watching the joy play in Inej’s face, her father’s stern words not reaching her, she was so high up. She was so high in fact that she turned up her eyes and looked directly at Nina.

Surprise took over her, forgetting to fly for a moment and falling a few meters before she regained her balance. Inej had clearly seen Nina’s face right then. She determinedly flapped her wings to get to the same height she had been and and looked slightly to the right of the sun. The light was strong but there, beside the giant ball of fire, was Nina. 

Resplandecent and inhuman, Inej would recognize that figure anywhere. It was the one that had listened to her during the long nights where she felt down, it was the head that dropped back in laughter as she told her of the shennanings she had gotten up to on her childhood, and it was the arms that had held her when no words would come out. And on that bright face was the smile she so adored, those eyes that looked at her with equal amounts of awe and care.

Inej wanted to reach her.

Nina wanted to hold her.

Neither of them paid any attention to what the old man down below was saying. It didn’t seem important when the person they  **loved** was right there, so close they could thought if only they reached a little further.

Nina didn’t realise that the tragedies she had heard so much about were nobody's fault, the fates didn’t hate or resent anyone, they just were.

Inej didn’t realise she was falling until she heard her father’s voice getting closer and Nina getting further.

She tried to move her wings with all her might, muscles straining against the mechanism to make them beat. It wasn’t until she felt the wax burning her arms that she realised her mistake.

She had flown too high. She had tried to reach the sun and she had been close enough to do it.

-I’m sorry.-She whispered with the air that was left in her lungs, as she plummeted down towards the darks waves.

Inej’s father was a smart man but even he couldn’t do anything about the laws of physics. Still, he reached his hands out wanting to catch her daughter as she had done dozens of times when she was still learning.

-The net is right there but,-she’d tell her,-even if you don’t have that you’ll have your loved one at the ready to catch you.

He never thought that’s become a lie.

Nina’s world was in slow-motion, she had stopped the chariot when she saw Inej approaching, wanting one last touch. She didn’t think, she didn’t think, she didn’t…

Inej was falling and it was on her.

Right when she was about to strike the water, Nina reached out.

Time was slowed before but now it had stopped completely, as if Chronos himself had woken, and Inej was in Nina’s arms.

Nina turned a tear-streaked face towards the man now watching, standing stock-still from a few feet away.

-I swear I never wanted this to happen.

He nodded sadly.-I told her not to go so high, but she wanted to fly.

Nina looked down at the unconscious for of the one she loved.

-You are Nina, right?

She looked up sharply.

-Come on, you think Inej didn’t tell me about you? We thought you were simply a spirit that was bound there. But you are much more than that, aren’t you?

She could only nod, her mind reeling

-I… I care about her

-Yes, I supposed you do.-He looked back at his daughter, lying on the arms od a god and strangely looking at home there.

-I don’t suppose you can just give her up?

-If there was anyway to give her her mortal life I would…

She’d do anything to give Inej back to the world, she didn’t want to keep her bound, like the humans had done. She wanted her free to live and love and age, but that was no longer an option.-but I can’t just let her die.

-If she goes with you, which she seemed to want more than life, would she be able to visit us?

-Yes! Of course. I could visit her, after all. But she would live in Olympus most of the time.

-Would I be by your side?

Thy were startled by the small voice coming from Nina’s arms. Inej had recovered quickly but finding the strength to speak took a bit longer.

She knew she had screwed up but she thought the only outcome was Hades, she didn’t even think Nina was an option.

-For as long as you wished it.

If it was up to her Nina would be with Inej for the rest of eternity but she’d never take the choice away. After all, godhood should be something you want.

Inej looked back at her father. The man who had taught her everything and who had taken care of her her whole life, the man who was willing to die alone on a deserted island for her.

-I’m sorry it has to be like this, dad. I wanted you to meet Nina but not like this.

His big hand caressed her cheek in an old gesture, Inej held his hand there.

-I know, but at least now I know how much love you two share. And we’ll always be there for you to come back to, even if it’s only for a little while.

Inej’s eyes filled with tears as she squeezed his hand one last time. Then she wiped them away and looked to Nina.

I guess this means you are stuck with me. It’s your punishment now.

-And what a sweet pain that is.-Nina leaned down to lay a chaste kiss upon her lips.

Time came back with that kiss. Inej’s father kept going east, this time with the blessing of Apollo and a new god who shined bright in the midday light.

The two held hands tightly as they went along the path of the sun chariot, smiling at each other as they drew near to what would be their home.

Inej would become an Olympian, one worshiped by dancers and acrobats, an inspiration but also a protector of people who are in danger of being taken away, a safe deity for those that feel like the entire world has turned against them and a simple comfort for the ones who miss home.

And Nina would stay by her side for eternity, taking her on flights all over the world, introducing her to all the gods that were worth meeting, and teaching her how to fly on her own so that she could go down into the mortal realm whenever she pleased.

The humans called her Icarus and they told the story about how she fell in love with the sun and the sun shone on her twice as bright.


End file.
